Intro to Punk

Ava Broussard  

Local Music Journalist  

In the late 1960s, the punk scene began with three major cities: New York, Detroit and London. Garage rock was the root of this new genre, with a distaste towards musical guidelines, it paved the road for punk. Minimal instruments, other than 1-2 guitars, bass, drums, and vocalists, a shorter, sped up tone, and a raw, rebellious attitude was the baseline of this new genre’s emergence. With an escalation of sub genres in the late 1970s, the punk scene continued to grow larger and larger, becoming an inspiring community for artists all across the globe. 

Garage rock began with 1950s rock and roll in its roots with artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richy, and Gene Vincent. During the late 1960s, rock and roll led to a quicker paced, more aggressive rock sound, which later grew into the profound genre of punk, making a more defined name for itself in the 1970s. 

The first acclaimed punk bands consisted of The Stooges and MC5, both originating in Detroit. The Stooges formed in 1967, originally called the “Psychedelic Stooges”. Their stage presence, the lead vocalist Iggy Pop in particular, was obscene and chaotic. From being one of the first artists to stage dive and cutting his chest open with shards of glass, the Stooges’s performances have forever left a mark on the punk rock collective. MC5, “basically invented punk rock,” says Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello in an Instagram post paying tribute to lead guitarist and co-creator Wayne Cramer. With their sound being something completely new during the time, MC5 completely transformed the music scene and continuously inspires punk artists. These profound bands set the stage for iconic groups and artists such as the Ramones, S*x Pistols, The Clash, Patti Smith, and many more.  

The genre’s expansion continues in the late 1970s with post punk, psychedelic punk, punk rock, glam punk, horror punk, punkabilly, and more. Bands like Misfits, Blondie, The Damned, The Cramps and more helped develop new sub genres with creative takes on the punk scene.  

On a more local level, Austin’s punk scene excelled in the 1980s with bands like The D**ks and The Big Boys. Later in the decade, post punk was introduced with San Antonio’s B**thole Surfers, The Jesus Lizard, Pink Swords, Riverboat Gamblers, The Cherubs, and more.  

Now, the upcoming band Die Spitz, based in Austin, is taking over.  Die Spitz won “Best Punk”, “Best New Act”, and “Best Music Residency”, in the 41st year of Austin Music Awards and “Album of the Year”, “Best Bassist”, and “Music Video of the year” in the 42nd Austin Music Awards this year. Other local punk bands to keep an eye out for are, P**sy Gillet, The Dead Coats, Lord Friday The 13th, Rat Church, and more. 

To get started on your journey through punk, here is a list of the top albums to listen to: 

MC5- Kick Out The Jams (1968) 

MC5- Back In The USA (1969) 

The Stooges- The Stooges (1969) 

The Stooges- Funhouse (1970) 

Patti Smith- Horses (1975) 

Ramones- Ramones (1976) 

Dead Boys- Young, Loud and Snotty (1977) 

Sex Pistols- Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977) 

The Damned- Damned Damned (1977) 

The Clash- London Calling (1979) 

The Cramps- Psychedelic Jungle (1980) 

Bad Brains- Bad Brains (1982) 

Misfits- Earth A.D./Die, Die My Darling (1983) 

Misfits- Static Age (1997) (Originally recorded in 1978, but released almost 20 years later) 

The Jesus Lizard- Goat (1990) 

Die Spitz- Teeth (2023)